Karl dismayed at length of Garnett’s suspension

DENVER (AP) – Nuggets coach George Karl did the math and it didn’t add up: Denver star Carmelo Anthony drew a 15-game suspension for his fight, Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett got a one-game penalty for another brawl.

“Obviously, if you land the punch it’s 14 games,” Karl said Monday. “Throwing one is one (game) and hitting (someone) is 14. That’s the equation I read. I’m just a simple guy. I couldn’t pass calculus.”

Anthony was set to return Monday night when Memphis visited Denver. He had been out since throwing a punch during a wild brawl against the New York Knicks on Dec. 16.

“Being away from (basketball), it really made me think about how much I appreciate it,” Anthony said. “I wish I could take that punch back.”

Anthony hit Knicks guard Mardy Collins, who had collared J.R. Smith on the way to the basket. In all, 10 players were ejected and seven were suspended.

Garnett, a perennial All-Star, sat out Sunday night’s game against Phoenix. He was suspended after throwing a punch at Detroit’s Antonio McDyess on Friday night.

When McDyess knocked down Minnesota’s Mark Madsen with a forearm shove, Garnett threw the ball at the Pistons player. McDyess charged with his fists ready and Garnett took a swipe at him. Those actions, however, did not prompt a bigger brawl.

“I just thought it was kind of unique that everything that J.R. and Melo were blamed for, Kevin Garnett did in the same incident,” Karl said. “He escalated a fight, he threw a punch, he threw a ball and gets one game. It was kind of a unique interpretation. I know it’s a hard job, but no, it doesn’t feel like it was a fair evaluation.”

Anthony met with NBA commissioner David Stern last week to talk about the fight at Madison Square Garden and said it went well.

“He explained a lot of things and made more things clearer to me,” Anthony said. “He got a chance to talk, I got a chance to talk and hopefully we’re both on the same page. It wasn’t so much of a message, it was just a generic conversation just to get everybody back on track.”